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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Getting serious

For those of you just joining me., I am writing about the process of creating a made to order neck piece for an Australian bride. The dates at the top of each post show the time period covered.

12/30/2010- 1/3/2011

The holidays were now finished, Priscylla sent me her measurements, and it was time to get serious!

I adjusted the dress form to the bride's measurements. But I ran into a problem with this- no arms on the dressform!! I definitely needed the measurement to go around the shoulders. So after thinking about it a bit, I rolled up some fleece that I had and padded it until the measurement was right. (if any of you are dressmakers, I am sure you are cringing right now!)

I had another curious problem with the dressform. I could not adjust the neck small enough. I double checked with Priscylla, and she said I had the correct measurements. So when you see the pictures of the neck chain from now on, you will see that I had to put a funny extender in to fit around the neck on the form.

Next, I wanted to cover the form with fabric to give me a better background to work on. Using fabric I had on hand, I managed to sew a passable cover. I actually loved doing this part- which kind of surprised me! I have sewn since I was a little girl, so this was right up my alley!

I had finished the side components:

and attached the 2 center components together:

(don't get too attached to this- I later changed it!)

Now I was ready to make actual part to go around the neck. This had to be fairly substantial, as this whole piece would be hanging (more or less) from it. Priscylla wrote and said she would like some large Rosewood beads that I had ordered included in the piece.

I thought these would be a good place to use them. I had made some round components that would blend with the rest of the neckpiece, and decided to alternate these and the rosewood beads.

The rosewood beads only had 2 holes and I needed at least 6 holes- double strands for the neckchain, and another set of holes vertically so I could attach bead strands to the bottom So out came my trusty Dremel, and I drilled away. Luckily the beads were hollow, but had quite a large border of solid wood, so it turned out to be quite a challenge to get these holes lined up with each other and drilled straight.

Next came the clasp. The bride wanted dangles going down her back in the center, so I needed something large enough to support that. And that main piece would need to be in the center. I wanted it to be as seamless as possible, I didn't want the clasp to be obvious.

clasp

OK- enough for today! Next time I will show you the finished neck chain.

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About Me

I am a bead artist living and working in Western New York State. I have been beading for many years, but only discovered my real passion for bead embroidery about 6 years ago. Since then I have created many pieces from simple earrings to very elaborate collars.
I sell my work online through Etsy
http://www.bettystephanbeadwork.etsy.com
as well as exhibiting at Art Shows throughout the Eastern U.S.
you can follow me on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Betty-Stephan-Beadwork/134426161640
I have won several awards in national contests, including Fire Mountain Gems and Bead Dreams. I have been published in both Bead and Button Magazine and FMG catalogs.